


Breathless

by Katsuko



Series: Hurt/Comfort Bingo 2012 [10]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Asphyxiation, Canon Genderbending, Community: hc_bingo, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Strangulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-11
Updated: 2012-07-11
Packaged: 2017-11-09 14:48:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/456702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katsuko/pseuds/Katsuko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki had just a split second to reflect that maybe she shouldn't have decided to aid her half-brother's little band of Midgardians today before there were metal hands wrapped around her neck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breathless

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://hc-bingo.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**hc_bingo**](http://hc-bingo.dreamwidth.org/) , the prompt being "asphyxiation."
> 
> For this particular fill, I went with an alternate universe in which Loki has always been female, she didn't kick off an alien invasion, her motives are ambiguous at best, the Avengers came together to deal with another threat, and sometimes Thor's chaotic-neutral baby sister pops by to visit.

Loki had just a split second to reflect that maybe, just _maybe_ she shouldn't have decided to aid her half-brother's little band of Midgardians today before there were metal hands wrapped around her neck.

A good percentage of the time, if Loki was on Midgard instead of roaming one of the other realms (she had never really felt at home in Asgard after discovering that she was a very small Jotun), she was content to either avoid encounters with the Avengers or aid them in their endeavors. On a few very rare occasions, Thor's pet warriors had actually been called out to stop _her_ from what they called criminal activities and she called window shopping. But for the most part, she liked the Avengers, and was on somewhat friendly terms with them.

Her plans for today had been to visit the museum, perhaps pick up something nice for Mother, collect an item that Father had dropped on the planet some time ago (honestly, Odin was a good king but _horrible_ at remembering to pick up after himself), and stop in to say a quick _hello and goodbye_ to Thor. However, she'd no sooner set foot in New York than the Starkphone that the Man of Iron had given her for emergency purposes (most emergencies being drunken text messages that she forwarded to the Hawk and Spider for amusement's sake) started ringing.

_"Hey, Lola. Ah, if you happen to be in the general Manhattan area, could you maybe stop by and give us a hand?"_

Of course, Doctor Doom _would_ decide to launch an attack on the exact same museum she was planning to visit. If she didn't know better, she'd think the man did it just to annoy her. Turn down the advances of one megalomaniacal leader of a realm in a long line of megalomaniacal leaders who'd asked to court her, and he takes it _personally_.

Doom was always a pain for the Avengers to deal with due to his mixing science and magic. Stark and Banner could manage to stop _some_ of the Latverian's robotic minions, but only for a brief while if there was no one to counter the magic part of the equation. That was where Loki came in today, just like every other time she aided the Midgardian warriors against this particular opponent.

She had been so focused on countering the spells with her own magic that she didn't hear Doom until he was right behind her. Then his hands were at her throat and she couldn’t get air to her lungs to summon her magic.

"Good day, my dear," Doom purred from behind his mask, eyes glimmering with what she could only deem to be madness. "You _really_ should have just kept out of my business. But perhaps you can help me answer a question that I've been puzzling over." His hands tightened, metal skin digging into the goddess of mischief's marginally more delicate flesh. "How long does it take for a god to asphyxiate?"

Loki clawed at the villain's hands, knowing that her fingernails wouldn't even bit into the man's living metal skin but unwilling to surrender without putting up a fight. She kicked at him as well, the blows causing him to stagger slightly; he only tightened his grip further. Her mouth fell open as she silently gasped for even a single breath with which to call for aid. The effort failed, and although she was made of much sturdier stuff than the average mortal, Loki was not truly immortal. Without air, she would die, and Doom seemed well-prepared to watch her choke.

Then there was a roar from somewhere just off to Loki's left and Doom's hands were ripped away from her throat as he went flying. The witch dropped to the ground, coughing and sucking in air. She wasn't too surprised to note that at some point in the past several minutes she'd instinctively shifted to Jotun form, perhaps in an effort to freeze her attacker that had failed miserably.

Rather than dwell on the fact that she was currently blue and that the ground she was kneeling on was quickly becoming covered in ice, Loki sucked in another breath and finished casting her counter spell. Immediately the Doom bots that had still been moving collapsed, like marionettes once their strings were cut. Black Widow was already moving towards the Jotun woman when Loki felt warm hands wrap around her arms and easily pick her up.

The goddess tilted her head back, letting it rest on the Hulk's arm as he fixed her with an almost worried look. "Loki hurt?" he ground out.

"I'll be fine soon enough," Loki managed to rasp out, her neck and throat sore from the ill treatment but already being tended to by her innate magic. "Thank you."

The Hulk nodded and walked to where the rest of the Avengers were now waiting with Natasha. If no one said anything and Banner didn't mind, it was entirely within the realm of possibility that the giant would carry her all the way back to the tower. Loki heaved a soft sigh and let her eyes flutter shut.

And decided to herself that if Banner and his darker half decided to court her, she would gladly accept.


End file.
